No 13299, Wednesday 14 Jul 2021, Skulldugger

Solution to 15A has been deliberately left unsolved and is to be answered only by a non-regular / novice commenter, with proper annotation. Those who have answered earlier in the week, please give others a chance.

Paper says Vulcan but I think this is by Skulldugger!!

ACROSS

1   Slave girl acting very uppity (6) VASSAL {LASS}{A}{V}<=

4   Spooner’s allowed sharp projection for price of flying! (3,3) JET LAG (~ let jag)

9   Formerly fractionally ensconced (4) ONCE [T]

10 Meaning found here in city road development (10) DICTIONARY*

11 Regularly seen in first class assembly (6) PLENUM {PL{sEeN}UM}

12 Exposed duke’s man in disguise (8) UNMASKED*

13 Corrupt chairmen essentially toyed with well-oiled system (9) MACHINERY {CHAIRMEN}*{toYed}

15 Hand over this at a fast clip in disheartening inaugural (4) ?I?T (Addendum - FIST FIrST - See comments)

16 Technique employed by the French traitor (4) MOLE {MO}{LE}

17 Hesitation twice expressed by mature two-timer (9) ADULTERER {ER}{ER}<=>{ADULT}

21 Every article by grad student a detested thing (8) ANATHEMA {AN}{A}{THE}{MA}

22 In jail, he ensures you don’t wander about (6) WARDEN* &lit

24 Mass erupts frenziedly to meet standards (4,6) PASS MUSTER*

25 Money lodged to release bundle of hay reportedly (4) BAIL (~bale)

26 Party person loses head at religious festival (6) EASTER fEASTER

27 Unforeseen developments as tornados destroyed hospital ward (6) TWISTS TWISTerS

DOWN

1   Plain article in luxurious residence (7) VANILLA {V{AN}ILLA}

2   A bit of yarn with exquisite finish wrapped up in membrane (5) SKEIN {SK{e...tE}IN}

3   Ill portent when bass dropped once in the middle section (7) ABDOMEN (-b)A(+b)BD OMEN

5   Gamine poses riddle (6) ENIGMA*

6   Small-minded municipality chiefs dismissed after drubbing in emphatic election result (9) LANDSLIDE {SmALLmINDED}*

7   Chap dresses body part with this (7) GARMENT {G{ARM}ENT} &lit

8   Teaching assistant quite scared to alter an affinity gained by experience (8,5)  ACQUIRED TASTE {TA+QUITE+SCARED}*

14 Bad odour from opening at sea? Hoist sail (9) HALITOSIS*

16 Frenchman on a French dog: “Not great, quite ordinary” (7) MUNDANE {M}{UN}{greatDANE}

18 Uncultured Republican ousting southern-most Liberal in unsportsmanlike act (7) LOWBROW LOWB(-l+r)ROW

19 Hennaed maidens periodically captured by the opposition (7) ENEMIES {hEnNaEd+MaIdEnS}

20 Bird (goose originally) the Spanish served up with lentil (6) LEGUME {EMU}{Go..e}{EL}<=

23 Puzzle inspired by macabre business (5) REBUS [T]

Reference List

Acting = A, Very = V, Technique = MO(Modus operandi), The in French = LE, Bass = B, Teaching assistant = TA, Frenchman = M, A in French = UN, Republican = R, Liberal = L, The in SPanish = EL